A Rose for a Kingdom - Revised Version
by Zanzetkuken
Summary: The Red Rose cards were captured one after another by the Rose Duelist. The duel against the Manawydan fab Llyr was won and the Card Guardian once more being sealed. However, the ritual to return the Duelist to his time goes awry due to an unforeseen interference, and he is instead sent to a world he does not know. A world gazed upon by a broken moon and the supernatural is common.
1. Chapter 1: The End of One Journey

**I had looked back through the prior chapters of the original story, and had seen that they could do with some revision. While I had replaced the second chapter of the story in the prior set, this has a few retcons** ** **I am performing** of things that I realized were poor decisions in hindsight, I could not simply override the previous versions of the chapters and expect things to flow naturally, so I am therefore putting this into a new story set.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, here is the first chapter of the revised version of the story.  
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 **Stonehenge. Salisbury, England. July 1485. War of the Roses.**

A seemingly thirty year old man, armored in plate armor designed reminiscent of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, slowly strode towards the ring of standing stones known as Stonehenge. The ancient structure itself was wreathed in strange energy colored purple and black that was slowly fading, screams of rage echoing out over the surrounding area. The auburn haired, blue eyed individual paused, gazing towards the center of the structure with an incomprehensible look. This man was the one hundred and seven year old Grandmaster of the White Rose Crusaders, Christian Seto Rosenkreuz. His pause was short before he continued approaching another, younger man was heavily leaning against one of the fallen stones of the outer ring of stones.

In contrast to the first's relatively normal appearance aside from a strange set of armor, this second person had only a simple cuirass and spaulder set of armor with the rest of his appearance being abnormal. Most easily noticed was the slightly wild curtained hair colored a mix of stark white and a near black purple that turned to a rose red at the tips, a color mirrored within the irises of his eyes. The rest of the individual's appearance seemed normal until it was noticed that his clothing beneath the armor was a white shirt and denim jeans from the late twentieth century rather than the late fifteenth century. This man was the Rose Duelist and the most recent member of the Rose Crusaders, seventeen year old Solomon Roosevelt.

The younger individual had a short coughing fit, covering his mouth with his right hand, as Rosenkreuz entered into a comfortable speaking range. "It is gone, isn't it?" Solomon asked the leader of the Rose Crusaders in a tired, slightly tense voice as his gaze honed on the specs of blood that newly dotted his hands. "I don't think I can handle the feedback of another duel."

"The summoning is undone…" Seto spoke as he glanced towards the center of Stonehenge, with a strange tone to his voice as the earlier look entered his face once more.

The tension within Solomon was erased and he slumped with his back against the fallen stone. ' _That duel was far too close…_ ' he thought as he let out the breath he was holding after he asked his question.

' _Indeed, but we still achieved victory…_ ' spoke the tired voice of the duel spirit Tactical Warrior within Solomon's mind. While not currently present upon the physical plane without the usage of a rose card giving the spirit a body at the cost of Solomon's turning ethereal, the female warrior had been soulbonded with the Rose Duelist and as a result was able to communicate with the duelist mentally. Her original name had long been lost over her many centuries of existence.

' _That we did…_ ' Solomon responded, cutting off the beginnings of a small chuckle that may have become uncontrollable. It would be unprofessional to do so in the presence of the leader of the Rose Crusaders. Speaking of, the Rose Duelist noticed the strange expression of Rosenkreuz, and spoke up, "Is something on your mind, Grandmaster?"

Seto kept his gaze silently honed on the center of the structure for a few seconds before speaking, "My family… Legend has it that my family was the only noble line to actually enter into a Pact of Glory with a Card Guardian. But sometime in the past, the pact was broken for reasons that are veiled in the mists of history."

' _Pact of Glory?_ ' Solomon mentally asked, confused as he rose to his feet.

' _A deal with a Card Guardian to gift immense power to a family line,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded, surprise evident in her mental voice. ' _There were rumors of one that had been made, but it has been millennia. Everything known about the line has been forgotten. It seems even the line itself cannot remember why it ended._ '

"For generations, our family has searched the world in the hopes of finding the same Card Guardian to revive the Pact and the glory that was once ours," Rosenkreuz continued. "Since the day I inherited the "Book of M" at Dumkul, I've searched far and wide…"

Seto's gaze became distant, becoming slightly lost in his memories. "Many are the Guardians I've awakened, only to return them to their resting place. To date, search for the one true Guardian goes unrewarded. You can't imagine how excited I was when I'd come to England and learned of the Rose Duelist Legend…"

' _Guardian_ s _?_ Plural _?'_ Solomon thought alarmed.

' _Most do not have the same level of power as Manawyddan and his brother,_ ' the Duel Spirit reassured after seeing where the Rose Duelists line of thought was heading. ' _None have the same ability to threaten the world as those two brothers with raw power alone without a long buildup._ '

Upon hearing this, Solomon relaxed until Tactical Warrior made a slight addendum with the word, ' _At least, out of the Card Guardians._ '

Alarm returned to the Rose Duelist's mind, but before he could ask the Deck Leader what she meant by that, before he had to refocus his attention upon Rosenkreuz as the grandmaster began to speak once more. "Needless to say, the result was anticlimactic at best…"

' _He cannot be serious,_ ' Tactical Warrior spoke within Solomon's mind, her initial tone incredulous and slowly turning to anger as she continued speaking. ' _Is_ that _what he calls the battle that we just fought on_ because he asked us to _and would have us to_ die _if we lost?_ '

Solomon originally felt a minor spike of annoyance, partially amplified by the anger of Tactical Warrior, at Rosenkreuz's comment, but upon hearing her tirade, his own emotions ebbed. ' _He was expecting far more than a battle,_ ' the Rose Duelist responded, attempting to understand the perspective of the Grandmaster.

' _He still could have chosen his words better,_ ' Tactical Warrior grumbled, a sentiment Solomon agreed with.

Seto was silent for a few moments, continuing his gaze towards the center of Stonehenge. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he turned to face the Rose Duelist and said, in a slightly heavy tone, "I apologize for dragging you into all of this."

"I believe you are mistaken in that, Grandmaster. It was not you who had forcibly dragged me back into the past, but instead the Lancastrians. I, in truth, thank you for at least giving me a choice rather than being stuck with fighting for them," Solomon responded carefully in a respectful tone until ire entered his voice at the thought of having to been forced to side with the Lancastrians. His tone returned to respectful as he continued, "You even promised to return me to my own time after our business was completed, something they never did even after your arrival and offer."

"I will honor my promise of returning you to your own age," Rosenkreuz responded in a slightly lighter tone that still betrayed that was slightly off. This became more evident as he continued with, "However, I fear that that is not enough to repay you for your help…"

Rosenkreuz paused as his eyes got a distant look and head unconsciously slightly tilted. ' _It seems Kisara has something to say to him,_ ' Tactical Warrior said to Solomon's confusion.

However, before the Rose Duelist could ask who she was talking about, Seto seemed to be struck by an idea and exclaimed, "Wait!"

' _I believe you meant to keep that in your mind, Rosenkreuz,_ ' Solomon commented, careful to make sure the comment was made mentally, to the amusement of Tactical Warrior.

While Solomon was making that mental comment, the Grandmaster of the Rose Crusaders had retrieved a pendant with a violet silk cord from between the layers of his armor. "Here! Take this back with you," he said, extending the arm holding the pendent.

Receiving it, the Rose Duelist noted that one face of the circular pendant held the sigil of the Yorkists and image upon eight of the Rose Cards, a white rose upon an azure field with a golden center and two crossed single edge swords. A cursory glance at the back led him and his Deck Leader to see an inscription. "Man is born to die, but the Pledge of Roses is born to live throughout all eternity." A surge of power ran through the Rose Duelist, and a new card, Earthshaker, manifested itself in his mind. ' _Quite a powerful card…_ ' Solomon commented.

' _It is a shame we won't ever be able to use it,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded, a slight hint of melancholy lacing her voice. Solomon froze when he heard how the Deck Leader had responded, recalling that being returned to his time would wind up breaking the soulbond between them. Tactical Warrior would return to the spirit world as the transfer back to his time broke the soulbond and both would have their minds become their own once more, but…

"I will continue in my quest to find the one true Guardian," Seto continued, not noticing Solomon was only partially listening to what he was saying. "Perhaps it is my destiny to fail. But my descendants shall carry on the search. Should you meet such a descendant of mine, show this Rose Pendant. For from this day onward, my family is ever in your debt and will lend whatever support it is within their powers to provide. This I promise as an eternal pledge… a 'Pledge of Roses'."

Refocusing around what the Grandmaster was saying, Solomon responded, still mostly distracted, "Thank you. I shall not waste the trust you place in me."

While Rosenkreuz began preparations for the ritual, Solomon tied the Pledge of Roses pendant around his neck and placed it beneath his armor to prevent damage. ' _We don't have much time left,_ ' Solomon thought, a storm of emotions crossing through his mind, as he walked towards the drawstring burlap bag he stored his belongings since he arrived in the fifteenth century.

' _No…we don't,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded with a similar storm apparent in her tone.

Solomon kneeled down next to where he had left the bag when he arrived, but refrained from performing any other action. ' _I…really don't know what to say. I…_ ' the Rose Duelist thought, trailing off as words refused to come to him.

'… _knew this would sometime come…but you didn't prepare for when it would?_ ' the Duel Spirit completed his thought for him. Solomon gave a simple nod of assent, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. '… _I guess_ _that makes two of us…_ ' Tactical Warrior finished melancholically.

Both were silent for several seconds before Solomon mentally said, '… _Can't really say we will see each other later…_ '

' _…even though Duel Spirits are immortal…_ 'the Deck Leader continued.

' _…we will still be in separate dimensions…_ ' the Rose Duelist finished, leaving the two in silence once more.

' _…Thank you..._ ' Tactical Warrior said, breaking the silence.

' _I don't understand…_ ' Solomon responded, slightly confused.

' _I know you were in turmoil at the time, but…you still selected me to be your deck leader,_ ' the Duel Spirit said. ' _If not for that…I wouldn't have been a part of this journey._ '

' _Uh, you're…um, welcome..._ ' the Rose Duelist responded embarrassed. ' _But…you really deserve more of the thanks… You were the one who kept me alive…and yelled at me to keep me fighting…_ '

' _I prefer to think of them as motivational speeches,_ ' Tactical Warrior said with a sad bit of laughter.

' _You and I both know what those really were_ ,' Solomon responded with a similar mental laugh. ' _In fact, if we both had simultaneous physical forms, I'm pretty sure you would have slapped me to force me to pull myself together during the duel against Manawyddan._ '

' _May have gone a bit further than a simple slap with how you were acting…_ ' Tactical Warrior admitted as stoically as she could before both she and Solomon broke down in laughter. The latter focused to keep the outloud vocalizations low to prevent from drawing attention to himself, but had a bit of a difficult time doing so and occasionally his control slipped.

After the laughter finally died down, the two were once more slipped into melancholic silence. Several seconds passed by before Solomon slung his bag over his left shoulder and solemnly thought, ' _The longer we drag this out, the more it is going to hurt…_ '

'… _Indeed…_ ' Tactical Warrior responded slowly. After a few moments of silence, she continued, ' _I'm going to miss you, Solomon._ '

' _I'm going to miss you as well, Tac,_ ' Solomon replied sadly, beginning to walk towards the center of Stonehenge. ' _The last few months have been… quite an amazing journey…especially with you,_ ' the Rose Duelist continued, ending on a slightly embarrassed note.

Though however great his embarrassment was, the Duel Spirit's own embarrassment was far greater and she was barely able to respond with, ' _S…same…_ '

The two walked on in embarrassed silence towards the center of the inner ring of standing stones. Passing by Rosenkreuz, Solomon swore he saw a small smirk cross the grandmaster's face when he looked at the Rose Duelist. However, if Seto had seen anything, he did not mention it. He only said, "Farewell, Rose Duelist."

"Farewell, Rosenkreuz," Solomon replied. Nothing more needed to be said between them as Solomon walked to the very center of Stonehenge. In truth, only one more thing needed to be said at all. ' _Goodbye, Tac…_ ' Solomon said solemnly.

' _Goodbye, Solomon…_ ' Tactical Warrior replied melancholically.

The ritual began. The air was saturated with magic as the power of the Rose Cards flooded the ancient structure. Storm clouds rapidly blanketed the skies over Stonehenge from horizon to horizon, with a massive vortex forming directly above the ring of stones. Inside the structure, a storm of red and white energy formed unaligned rings around the Rose Duelist spinning wildly. Within seconds, the rings shot him up into the center of the vortex, the clouds blocking any view of the structure below soon after entering them. Solomon and Tactical Warrior both relaxed, sorrowfully awaiting for the breaking of the soulbond between them as the ascent continued.

It was then they experienced a sudden stop within the swirling gray of the clouds, nearly causing Solomon's left hand to let go of the drawstrings of his bag and having it fall into the surrounding void. Both jolted to high alert, with Solomon rehefting the bag over his shoulder, as the same thought simultaneously passing through both their minds. ' _What is going on?_ '

A great pressure slowly began to weigh upon them both, growing in strength from second to second. As it grew, Solomon clutched his chest with his empty right hand as he began to have some trouble breathing as he was prevented from getting a full breath from the weight upon his chest. A layered voice echoed in from all directions through the surrounding clouds. " **You both have become...significant annoyances.** "

A figure manifested within sight, but attempting to gaze upon it caused severe mental pain that tried to tear at the minds of Solomon and Tactical Warrior and only left only temporary impressions of skeletal body parts interlaced with exposed musculature, golden armor, and an enveloping aura shrouding its surroundings in a consuming darkness. ' _Nitemare…_ ' Tactical Warrior mentally whispered, answering Solomon's barely focused thoughts on the identity of the entity before them.

" **Indeed, monster card,** " the Dark God spoke in the same layered voice with greater force that started tearing into the Rose Duelist's and Duel Spirit's minds as well. " **Hmph. I should tear out both yours and your duelist's soul for summoning then instantly sealing my brother. Shredding and recombine them with a few others may result in a...somewhat decent new card to add to my deck as well as serve as proper punishment,** " Nitemare commented offhanded as it seemed to reach out with what may have been its hand that seemed to be reaching for the Rose Duelist's body. Solomon tried to back away in fear, but was completely unable to move. However instead of going for him, what may have been an extended claw slowly stroked along one of the sixteen rings of energy surrounding the duelist, letting forth the sound of reality scraping past its antithesis. " **It would only take a few measly seconds to do so if not for this barrier," the Card Guardian spoke. "However, the card is not worth the minute of my time it would take to dismantle the barrier before I could make it.** "

Any chance of a speck of hope forming after that last statement was dashed by the Dark God's next words. " **So...I will instead do this** ," Nitemare spoke, facing what may have been a palm towards Solomon and speaking in an incomprehensible language. The sphere formed by the rings of energy hurtled back, dragging the Rose Duelist and the soulbonded Tactical Warrior with it. Solomon only held onto the bag he held due to the sudden acceleration coming with a wave of mental assault that forced his hands into a death grip and caused both the Rose Duelist and Duel Spirit to yell out in pain.


	2. Chapter 2: Is the Begining of Another

**Unknown.  
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The flash of lighting and crash of thunder coming from all around them caused Solomon and Tactical Warrior to yell out in pain as their intermixing migraines were amplified severely. The sheer pain caused the Rose Duelist and, mentally, the Duel Spirit to involuntarily curl up as the pain overrode conscious thought. The burning sensation of tears running across his cheeks as the mental pain consuming both their minds crashed into each other and prolonged the suffering. Excruciatingly slowly, the twinned migraines began to fade, the all-consuming pain largely giving way to ange, which in turn ebbed to leave a numb exhaustion.

' _Tac?_ ' questioned the exhausted Solomon.

' _What?_ ' Tactical Warrior responded similarly.

' _The_ fuck _was that?_ ' he asked as he shakenly rose to an unsteady kneeling position.

' _It seems Manawyddan's brother decided to…step in…while we were in their realm…_ ' the Duel Spirit replied.

'A lot _more powerful than Manawyddan was…_ ' Solomon thought, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.

' _Manawyddan was in a weakened form…_ ' Tactical Warrior began.' _Crossing dimensions also would have caused him to suffer a drop in power… I have also witnessed him duel before…and the cards he used against us were some of his weaker ones._ '

' _We barely won…_ ' the Rose Duelist trailed off, the weight of his words crashing down on him.

' _Indeed,_ ' the Duel Spirit replied.

' _...What is one of them?_ ' Solomon asked with trepidation.

' _Riryoku,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded cautiously. ' _A power increase spell that reduces the enemy life in half and augments the equipped monster with that amount…_ '

' _...causing a potentially two thousand point increase to attack and defense, something our deck can only get if all our equip spells are used and are on favorable terrain…and we saw he had more equip spells than that…_ ' the Rose Duelist continued the Duel Spirit's statement in falling spirit. ' _…if I'm not in my time, then I'm never going to be able to get back to it, will I?_ '

' _Probably not…_ ' Tactical Warrior reluctantly admitted. ' _I am sorry you got mixed up in this…_ '

' _No,_ ' Solomon responded with a slight amount of annoyance. ' _None of my situation was your fault. It was entirely in the hands of the McMooran and Beaufort. You are a beautiful woman who was caught up in the mess that my life had become, and have become one of only a few I trust completely and unquestionably._ ' In the slightly awkward silence that came after the Duelist's statement, he thought over the Spirit's statement and he mentally kicked himself while saying, '… _wait that was an expression of sympathy, wasn't it?_ '

' _Yes…_ ' Tactical Warrior replied awkwardly, before closing away her thoughts from Solomon, limiting their communication to just tangentially feeling emotion. For a second, the Duelist was confused, before he recalled his full statement and comprehension of what he had said crossed his rational mind.

"And the winner of the 'stupidest decision of the day' award goes to Solomon Roosevelt for accidentally flirting with someone stuck in his head," Solomon could have sworn he heard Bjorn mirthfully and bombastically announce to the loud laughter of Rubeus and the quiet chuckling of Li. Something which served to heighten Solomon's embarrassment, though tempered slightly by sadness of having not seen his friends for months, and search for something to distract his mind with. Upon which, he noticed a slight breeze bring something familiar into line of sight, a White Rose card.

For a moment, Solomon was confused as to its presence as he picked it up. As the card disintegrated into a white energy that passed into his skin, the Duelist then recalled that the card had been brought into his line of sight by a slight breeze. "Shit," Solomon exclaimed as he clamored to his feet, only slightly noticing that feedback of his realization had brought Tactical Warrior out of her musings, and both searched their surroundings to locate the other fifteen Rose Cards and just in general determine their surroundings.

They were in the center of a largely collapsed circular structure within a forest, a large clearing visible out the most open part of the structure. It held a large stone floor, oddly carved to be reminiscent of a rose, with six circular, partially engraved pillars laying equidistant along its length, one of the pillars broken near the base. Upon the standing pillars lay a massive ring of stones that was obviously broken away around the destroyed pillar. A broken wall formed of five layers of stones each equal in height to Solomon ran behind a few of the pillars, with the zenith of the crumbling wall reaching the base of the ring upon the pillars. Just inside the pillars was a set of twenty stomach-high pillars that formed a crescent along the edge of the rose-carved platform, just inside the larger supporting pillars. It is upon fifteen of these smaller pillars that the remaining Rose Cards were laying upon.

Solomon slowly walked from pillar to pillar, collecting each of the remaining fifteen Rose Cards, slightly perplexed that none of them seemed to have moved in the slightest from the center of the pillars, unlike the first that he had noticed. A further oddity made itself known as, of the fifteen remaining Rose Cards, the only ones to dissolve into energy and augment his soul were the eight Red Rose cards, the seven other White Rose cards stubbornly staying in the card form.

' _We won the eight Red Roses, but were only gifted with one of the White Roses,_ ' the Duel Spirit offered as a possible explanation.

' _But we gave them all to Rosenkreuz for the ritual. We shouldn't be able to access the nine we can if that were the case..._ ' Solomon trailed off.

' _Do you have a place to keep them safe?_ ' Tactical Warrior asked.

' _Not really…wait, there is something I could use,_ ' the Rose Duelist replied, looking around for his bag. Noticing it was nearby where they had initially landed, he headed over to it and began searching around inside before extracting a palm-sized rectangular box made of rigid leather.

' _What is it you use that for?_ ' The Duel Spirit asked when he had retrieved the box.

' _I haven't brought it up before?_ ' The Rose Duelist replied quizzically.

' _No,_ ' Tactical Warrior replied. ' _I've seen you handle it carefully when removing it, but I never asked about it before and you've never mentioned anything about it._ '

' _Well, it contains my deck of the modern incarnation of the game,_ ' Solomon replied, slightly sheepishly at having neglected to mention it for so long, as he undid the latch and opened the deck box. ' _Didn't want to open it back then as there wasn't really a reason and it might damage the cards._ ' Separating two random cards in the deck to create a gap, the visible card interestingly being one of his possible alternate deck leaders Thunder Nyan Nyan, he slid the remaining White Rose Cards into the deck, and, as he reclosed the deck box, he finished, ' _Now, we need somewhere to store some cards, and it is fitting…_ '

Tactical Warrior gave a small chuckle for a few seconds before cutting off. ' _We have company. Outside largest opening._ '

Solomon tossed the latched deck box into the bag rapidly before refocusing where Tactical Warrior indicated. There were five strange creatures in the direction she had indicated, with forms largely reminiscent of a highly bestial werewolf. The creatures of the pack had bodies that were blacker than pitch, with one exception. The claws, teeth, and what seemed to be a mask were the purest of white, with exception to red markings that crossed over the mask, at one point seemingly forming eyes. Any curiosity was about them was tossed aside thanks to their rapid approach. A switch seemed to flip in Solomon's mind, his expression growing stern, as he pulled the drawstrings of the bag and tossed it off to one side, mentally asking only a single question as he fortified his mind, ' _Ready?_ '

' _Of course,_ ' Tactical Warrior replied knowingly as the creatures approached, similarly fortifying her own mind. Four of the entities began to slow slightly, changing direction likely in an effort to surround the Rose Duelist while one kept going in for the attack, but the Rose Duelist and Duel Spirit were only barely concerned. Especially once both reached for the integrated energy of the Rose Cards and the dam containing the energy broke down. A smirk crossed Solomon's face as the power flooded through the two of them, white tendrils of energy crisscrossing his entire body and clothing. Most of the creatures seemed to slow quickly at what was occurring, but the one charging towards him redoubled its pace and leapt for the Rose Duelist. This attack ended in failure as the entity fell right through Solomon's seemingly physical form, as it was dissolved by the power of the Rose Cards and his body and clothing were transformed to be composed of a partially transparent matrix of white energy.

Adjacent to the now ghostly Rose Duelist, a sigil appeared with energy formed in the appearance of the White Rose and edged by an intricate gold pattern. A bright vortex of light was emitted upwards and when it faded, a golden-eyed woman was revealed to be standing upon the sigil, armored in a full set of red plate armor and armed with a broadsword inscribed with many runes and a red and gold kite shield. Around the center of her torso and forming a cape hanging from the back of her hips down to her shin were a great number of white feathers. The helm which covered her long, golden hair with red bangs had four golden wings sprouting from the temples, two on each side. This was the physical form of Tactical Warrior.

Solomon rolled his shoulders as a phantom exhaustion from one of Tactical Warrior's battlefield memories bled through their Rose Card amplified connection, while the Duel Spirit herself heard the echoes of a crowd bleed over from the Rose Duelist's mind. Thanks to their mental preparations they had rapidly learned to develop after past bleed-throughs, neither of these echoes lasted for more than a second and both were able to bring their focus upon the five cards they had gained access to, Hitotsu-Me Giant, Zanki, Battle Steer, Octoberser, and Yellow Luster Shield. The Rose Duelist quickly gazed at the creature that had performed a leaping strike at him and noted its name was a creature by the name of a Beowolf and had an attack power was at an even one thousand, information that was instantly passed to Tactical Warrior without a word needing to be said thanks to the amplified connection.

' _Encirclement break point?_ ' Solomon asked, preparing his part in the summoning of the only monster their starting four star summoning power could call upon, Hitotsu-Me Giant. A fact made evident by the swirling vortex of energy surrounding a sphere of intermixed dark purple and brown energy in his open left palm.

' _Right edge,_ ' the Duel Spirit replied, preparing the same energy in her left shield hand. Both began rushing the rightmost Beowolf as both tossed the twin spheres of energy before the creature. The entity dodged back into the land behind that section of the ruined temple as the spheres flew towards it, fusing in midair into a single large vortex before it. However, this state was temporary as vortex transformed into the green-skinned cyclops as it leapt towards the creature with a bestial roar. The attack power of the warrior was amplified from twelve hundred to seventeen hundred as it passed onto the meadow that was on that side of the temple. This meant when the cyclops's fist impacted the Beowolf's head, the creature was thrown back with its neck was broken. Oddly, as it was thrown back, the Beowolf disintegrated into a dissipating black mist.

This fact could not be thought upon much as the Beowolf to the left of their position struck at them. Tactical Warrior noticed this quickly and skidded to a stop, bracing herself with shield raised. However, she wasn't able to get to a perfect stance before the creature impacted her shield, forcing her back a slight amount and against the pillar. Both the Rose Duelist and Duel Spirit felt the sting as one thousand of their four thousand point shield was eliminated by the attack. Compounding this, the Beowolf that had attempted to strike at Solomon had recovered, and was approaching from the left, with the other two following behind.

Three stars worth of summoning power was restored to Tactical Warrior and Solomon, and a new card, Nekogal #1, was drawn to refill the hand after Hitotsu-Me Giant's summoning. The cyclops in question used the augment to its speed gifted to it by being on favorable terrain to charge the Beowolf that had attacked Tactical Warrior. While the Duel Monster's attack was reduced to its base twelve hundred, this was still more than enough to dispatch that Beowolf as easily as the previous. While the cyclops struck, Tactical Warrior and Solomon summoned Nekogal #1 between the soon to be destroyed Beowolf and the Beowolf that had struck at the Rose Duelist earlier. The eleven hundred attack cat girl-fairy hybrid manifested from her vortex in an attack simultaneous with Hitotsu, but focused instead upon the Beowolf that had earlier attempted to strike at Solomon, via leaping upon its back and using her claws to tear out the creature's throat with her clawed hands.

The final two charged at the group as the now deceased members of their pack dissolved into dissipating black mists, with the former leftmost Beowolf attempting to perform a strike upon Nekogal #1 while her back was turned. The creature's claws raked across the hybrid's back and wings, but the magic composing the stronger creature resulted in the Beowolf's strike dealing no damage. Nekogal #1 counter attacked by stabbing her bladed tail through the torso of the creature, killing it. The other instead rushed to attempt to move through the gap between Nekogal #1 and Hitotsu-Me Giant in order to strike at Tactical Warrior.

The summoning power of Solomon and Tactical Warrior once more increased by three and a new card entered their minds, the Book of Secret Arts. The equip spell proved to be unnecessary, as the cyclops managed to recover quicker than the Beowolf was able to respond and was able to kill the Beowolf, finishing off the last member of the pack.

The Rose Duelist and Tactical Warrior moved back towards the center of the structure, with Nekogal acting as a guard for their left while Hitotsu moved to guard their right. As Solomon was about to ask Tactical Warrior a question, a strange sound echoed over the trees. The source was revealed as a helicopter flew overhead and landing within the nearby field.

' _It seems our arrival attracted some attention…_ ' Tactical Warrior commented as the craft's rotors began to spin down.

' _Hopefully it's not negative attention…_ ' Solomon replied, watching what he thought was the door to see who it was that would come out. ' _And we can actually communicate with them,_ ' he finished as he gazed upon the unfamiliar design of the aircraft.

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 **Curious, any interest in seeing a list of revisions that were done?**


	3. Chapter 3: You Can't Go Home Again

**Unknown**

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A pair of individuals exited the aircraft, one gesturing back and seemingly saying something to others inside, though they were out of range for Solomon, Tactical Warrior, or either of the summons to hear what was said. The two were of different genders and seemed to be near middle age. Of the two, only the male had his hair grayed from age, the glasses wearing female's hair still being blonde. The style of dress of both was formal, with significant contrast between the relatively basic suit of the male and the complex dress of the female.

' _Either of their styles seem familiar to you?_ ' Tactical Warrior asked the Rose Duelist as she sheathed her blade. The two's stoic stances contrasted by the Hitotsu-Me Giant shifted on its feet awaiting a fight with cautious optimism and the Nekogal #1 sat crosslegged on the ground, yawning.

 _'There's...some similarities in the suit but the particular way it is styled is not something I've ever seen before and I haven't seen anything like that dress before...'_ Solomon responded uneasy. ' _There's a chance it may be that I forgot about the style or it is one that came about when we were in the past, but..._ '

' _It could equally be indicative of not being in the correct world,_ ' the Duel Spirit continued the thought.

' _Especially with the design of the VTOL aircraft,_ ' Solomon partially carried on with. ' _It looks like it may use...tiltjet propulsion I think is what that type is? But I don't recall any transports that used that design..._ _Actually, I don't recall any that became production designs..._ '

' _...You're going to have to explain everything you just said_ ,' Tactical Warrior replied, with a hint of confusion. ' _Later_ , _of course,_ ' she noted, her voice returning to neutral, as she noticed the two approaching individuals were reaching a range where both sides could hear the other's words.

' _Do you wish to speak with them, or have me?_ ' the Rose Duelist asked.

' _I will_. _Not often I get the chance to speak outside your mind,_ ' the Duel Spirit replied half-jokingly, with a barely noticable trace of melancholy that Solomon noted only thanks to how long they had spoken with each other. While the Rose Duelist became partially lost in his own thoughts as a result, Tactical Warrior raised her right hand over where her heart would be if she was a biological entity and gave a bob of the head greater than a nod but less than a bow before saying, "Greetings sir and madam. We apologize if we find ourselves upon land we are not supposed to be upon, but circumstances beyond our control has led to us being lost. Would you kindly tell us where we are and who we are speaking to?"

The two paused in their pace and one turned toward the other, speaking in an unfamiliar language. The Rose Duelist was broken out of his reverie as a result, a slight trace of a frown crossing the his face and the Duel Spirit's. ' _This may be a bit more difficult than we were hoping..._ '

' _Does the language seem familiar at all to you?_ ' Tactical Warrior asked.

' _No..._ ' Solomon said with greater unease than when he failed to place their style of dress. ' _But...it may be that I haven't encountered it yet. At least, I hope it's because of that...if not..._ ' he trailed off with a notable trace of melancholy in the duelist's voice.

' _I know of a few others we can try, but I am uncertain as to how effective they might be,_ ' the Deck Leader attempted to break Solomon from his thoughts.

' _I only know a bit of Japanese from want to not be completely helpless during international tournaments,_ ' Solomon responded sheepishly. ' _It_ _really isn't much, though..._ '

Tactical Warrior gave the mental equivalent of a nod. The Duel Spirit was about to say something in response, when the male of the individuals before them seemed to address them. ' _Was that one of the ones you know?_ ' Solomon asked as a look of disappointment crossed the male individual's face.

' _No,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded. ' _This is one, however._ ' The Deck Leader made an attempt to address the individuals, in a language Solomon oddly simultaneously vaguely and fully recognized at the same time, with "Do you understand what I am saying in this language?"

Unfamiliarity was evident upon the faces of the two individuals, who returned to their deliberation as Solomon mentally asked, ' _What was that?_ '

' _A variant of Norse_ _spoken in the Sviþjod portions of Scandinavia_ ,' the Duel Spirit replied. Upon noting Solomon's confusion, she continued, ' _That's an old name for the nation I think you know of as Sweden._ '

' _No, I mean why did I both fully and partially recognize it?_ ' the Rose Duelist clarified.

' _Oh...my mistake,_ ' Tactical Warrior replied sheepishly. ' _That might be due to a partial bleedthrough of my knowledge of the language mixing with vague familiarity with a version from when you came from over the mental connection._ '

' _...Tha...that doesn't have any other side effects, does it?_ ' Solomon asked with great unease and a hint of mixed concern and fear.

'... _No one has...specifically...noticed anything...major..._ ' Tactical Warrior trailed off, the same tone lacing her mental voice. Refocusing herself, she continued in a tone closer to normal, ' _It should be something we keep an eye on..._ '

' _...but right now, we have something more important to focus upon,_ ' Solomon concluded. The Rose Duelist was about to continue when the female of the two strangers spoke up in a seemingly more archaic language that, again, neither of them recognized. The strangers seemed to notice this and went back to their discussion, and the Duelist and Spirit returned to theirs with Solomon asking, ' _Want me to try the Japanese?_ '

' _It's...more likely to work than the other I know_ ,' Tactical Warrior admitted. ' _It is at least a language spoken on Midg- Earth.'_

' _Don't need to correct yourself,_ ' Solomon replied with the barest smile at the Duel Spirit's rephrase, to her slight embarrassment. Addressing the strangers, the Rose Duelist spoke up, the magic causing his ethereal state providing a slight echo to his voice, in somewhat decent Japanese, "Do you understand what I am saying with this language?"

The two individuals seemed to get slightly unnerved by him having suddenly spoken up and the echo lacing the Rose Duelist's voice, but once that passed, Solomon and Tactical Warrior both saw their expressions once more turn to nonrecognition. ' _I understand what you were saying earlier with the strange mix of recognition,_ ' the Duel Spirit responded. ' _It is...a strange feeling._ '

'' _Isn't it?_ ' Solomon responded. After a few seconds of silence, he then stated, ' _We might as well try the other one you know._ '

' _It's the least likely for them to know but..._ ' Tactical Warrior began.

' _...It's the only chance we have left_ ,' Solomon concluded with a hint of cautious optimism.

The Duel Spirit gave a silent acknowledgement before turning her focus towards the Strangers, saying in the final language, "This is the last language we know. Do you understand what I am saying now?"

To the surprise of both, the language did seem to strike some familiarity with the two individuals. While seeming to attempt to recall it, Solomon asked Tactical Warrior, ' _...What was it that made it so unlikely for them to know it?_ '

' _It's not a language of Midg-Ear-Midgard,_ ' Tactical Warrior stumbled, though her surprise was still evident despite it. ' _It's a language of the Duel Spirit Realms._..'

Before Solomon could ask further questions, the female of the two strangers spoke up in a somewhat broken version of the language that seemed to be of the intent, "My knowledge of it is limited, but I do know a fair amount of it."

' _Thank the gods, it actually worked,_ ' the Rose Duelist thought, relieved.

"It is quite rare for one to know this language, so even limited knowledge is more than we were hoping for," Tactical Warrior responded to the stranger with her earlier partial bow. "To clarify what I had said when we first attempted to speak, I had apologized if we have found ourselves upon land we are not supposed to be upon, but circumstances beyond our control had resulted in us arriving with no knowledge of where we are, and I had ended with an inquiry as to where we are at as well as who both of you are."

There was a slight delay as the female translated what was said for her ally and the two had a short discussion that seemed to only be partially about how to respond to the inquiry Tactical Warrior had told them about. It soon passed and the female replied with, "You are currently in the Emerald Forest outside of Beacon Academy. I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch and my colleague is the Headmaster of the Academy, Ozpin."

' _...Damn,_ ' Solomon thought after processing the statement that the Professor had made. ' _I haven't heard of a single one of those things._ '

' _The information is more local rather than the name of a city and country, so when combined with you not knowing the language, it does make sense you wouldn't truly be aware of it,_ ' Tactical Warrior replied mentally before addressing Glynda. "I am Tactical Warrior and the man next to me is Solomon Roosevelt. I am afraid the events that caused us to be unaware of where we are located have resulted in far greater confusion than that could answer. What is the nearest city and what nation are we in?"

This inquiry caused an even greater amount of confusion for the Professor and Headmaster than the prior question had. A vaguely suspicious and fearful feeling brewed in the back of Solomon's mind that he could not effectively shake away. The feeling only grew stronger when Glynda stated, "The nearest city is Vale and you are within the Kingdom of Vale."

' _...Shit...At the very least, I'm not in my time..._ ' Solomon mentally stated, the suspicion and fear lacing his tone. ' _...and at the worst..._ '

' _There's still a...slight chance that we are at least somewhat close..._ ' Tactical Warrior replied with some hollow optimism. Speaking to Glynda, the Duel Spirit replied with, "Could you tell us what continent we are on and what year it is?"

Once more this inquiry caused a great deal of confusion to the two opposite the Duelist and Spirit and again caused a slightly longer debate than the prior time. "It has been eighty years since the Great War and you are upon the continent of Sanus," the Professor responded, before asking a question of her own. "Why is it you need to know that?"

'... _Fuck..._ ' was the only coherent thought that went through Solomon's mind as the suspicion and fear began skyrocketing.

In a final attempt to possibly bring some measure of solace to the Rose Duelist, Tactical Warrior largely ignored the question Glynda had asked to inquire, "...What is the name of the planet we are on?"

This seemed to cause something to click within the minds of the Headmaster and the Professor in their subsequent conversation. Solomon slowly lowered himself to a sitting position on the ground as several memories threatened to break free. Tactical Warrior attempted to provide some measure of stability for him over the mental link, but it only lasted until Glynda answered, with a hint of sympathy in her tone, "Remnant. This isn't your world, is it?"

Rather than Tactical Warrior, Solomon answered the Professor's question by unconsciously drawing upon the Duel Spirit's knowledge of the language to say a single word. "No..."

Solomon's memories of friends and family he would no longer have the chance to see again thanks to the sheer power of the Card Guardian blocking him from returning began to flow without effective resistance. His mind rapidly traced out what might happen thanks to the circumstances of his disappearance, focusing on the worst case scenario, and he began to despair. Tactical Warrior kneeling down and placing her left hand upon his right shoulder after setting her shield down did somewhat help banish some of the thoughts and shift towards a somewhat more neutral scenario, but the grief still rendered the Rose Duelist feeling hollow in the aftermath. It was at that moment, the Professor decided to speak up again.

"Given you current...status...meaning you would be lacking a place to stay, the Headmaster wants to offer you temporary accommodations at the Academy," Glynda stated. "It may be difficult to accommodate four of you long term, but there won't be an issue for a couple months."

Tactical Warrior removed her hand from Solomon's shoulder as the Rose Duelist had somewhat stabilized, and rose to her feet, grabbing her shield in the process. Gesturing to both Hitotsu-Me Giant and Nekogal #1, she said, "Myself and these two are all summons that can be dispersed. You would only need to accommodate Solomon."

After a short conversation on their side, Glynda inquired, "Is there anything you can tell us about what we would need to do to accommodate him?"

"When all of the summons are dispersed, he will exit the ethereal state and return to having an ordinary physical form," Tactical Warrior replied.

"That is quite fortunate," Glynda replied. A sound seemed to play in the general direction of the Professor and Headmaster, and the former pulled out a strange device that had two parts pulled away from each other to create a holographic display. In a more ordinary state, Solomon might have marveled at the technology, but his current melancholic mind barely noticed it. Something she had seen on the device partially concerned Glynda, who, after conveying the information to Ozpin, said to Tactical Warrior, "There are a massive number of Grimm incoming. We're going to have to leave soon."

Noting the unspoken request, Solomon pulled himself together and spoke to the two summons. "Thank you for the assistance you have provided."

A slight purr emanated from Nekogal #1 and a slight grumble of acknowledgement was emitted by Hitotsu-Me Giant before Solomon and Tactical Warrior focused on undoing the magic of the Rose Cards. The two summons faded back into vortexes of energy before those dispersed while the transfer of corporeality from Solomon to Tactical Warrior played out in reverse. When it was done, a wave of exhaustion passed through Solomon that he only barely managed to remain standing. ' _Wh-what the hell?_ ' he thought, temporarily snapping from his reverie.

' _We've only been using it once in a day before,_ ' Tactical Warrior responded slightly tired herself. ' _And never after a battle such as against Manawyddan._ '

' _So we've gotten exhausted from too much magic use?_ ' the Rose Duelist asked.

' _Possibly..._ ' Tactical Warrior replied.

Any further thoughts were interrupted by Glynda speaking up and gesturing toward the aircraft, "Come with us."

"Jus-Just need to grab my bag first," Solomon replied with a slight stumble with a sentence Tactical Warrior provided.

"Make it quick," the Professor replied, keeping an eye out for the incoming Grimm. Solomon rushed over as quick as he could to the area he had tossed the bag over towards before the fight and slung it over his shoulder before moving to follow the Professor and Headmaster onto the transport. They boarded it and the aircraft took off rapidly enough that Solomon almost fell to the ground, narrowly managing to control his fall to land in one of the transport's seats, as the wave of exhaustion simultaneously struck with the takeoff. Thoughts barely coherent at this point, the Rose Duelist was just barely able to strap himself into the seat, before one final wave struck that made him pass out.

* * *

 **Laptop wound up dying in the middle of writing it and had to buy a new one. Had to rewrite as a result. At least it's here now.  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Rest is Not Idleness

**Unknown**

* * *

The feeling of consciousness returned to Solomon slowly, oddly feeling completely refreshed. Rising easily and looking over his surroundings, he saw something he hadn't been expecting to see. As far as the duelist could tell, he seemed to be on his bed back at home, the largely undisturbed room seeming oddly unfamiliar. Feeling the weight of the armor he had gathered in the fifteenth century upon him, and looking down to double check, he thought to a slight, odd ache at the lack of Tactical Warrior's presence, ' _That part was a dream at least_.' Gazing around and noting the pack hanging on the back of the door, he continued, ' _Was the part on the other world a hallucination of sorts, though? And if I'm back home was that part with Manawyd-_ '

Solomon's thoughts cut off as he noticed that it didn't seem to be time alone that had led to the feeling of unfamiliarity. First was the presence of eight Red Rose Cards flanking a single White Rose Card upon the dresser, the nine shaped in a semicircle around two forty card decks, upon one was a face-up card of Tactical Warrior herself. Running his hand over the dresser, he noticed that rather than cut wood, it seemed to have more characteristics of the trunk of a still living tree having grown in that shape, the drawers being a solid part of the object. Looking at the nearby wall, it seemed to have the texture of a relief that gave the vague impression of a forest, one he could vaguely see details of Stonehenge through, and the floor's carpet seemed to be composed of strangely colored grass rather than the standard material.

Meandering over to the other side of the room, the Rose Duelist noted that it seemed to have the same composition as the dresser, with it playing host to things he didn't recall leaving upon it. Specifically some framed pictures of his friends and family that he could have sworn he had on the dresser, but given the current state of that, he didn't really question this too much. This is not to say it didn't fuel his suspicion and confusion, just that he didn't directly question it. Aside from those images, his Duel Disk was also sitting upon the desk with a forty card deck within it, as well as the binder the Duelist had compiled the few things his Grandfather and deceased Great-Grandfather would speak about their service Second and First World Wars respectively and a compilation of random notes ranging from topics such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement to _The Prince,_ the life of William III of England, and what was known about the seizure of KaibaCorp by Seto Kaiba, as well as copies of various things such as the Thirty-Six stratagems and compilations of various quotes of effectively random individuals that were useful advice or could be used to mess with his opponent's mind during a duel. At least, that final part was true until one particular event. ' _Only barely stopped that from going far, far worse than it did..._ ' the Rose Duelist thought, after the memory rapidly replayed in his mind as fresh as if it had just occurred, feeling as if ice was running down his spine.

This feeling remained in the back of Solomon's mind as he refocused upon the suspicion, as it was the most prevalent force in his mind after that one. His eyes fell upon the door to the room, and a possibility entered his mind. Walking over and grabbing a hold of the doorknob, the Rose Duelist paused for a second. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. Beyond it was not the second floor hallway of his home, but instead a darkened hallway made of stone brick that stretched far into a pitch darkness. On either side of the door he had opened lay other doors with different styles, the one on the right being composed of handcrafted spruce wood while the one on the left was composed of an iron door with a split symbol upon it, the right half being that of the White Rose while the left half being the Red Rose.

' _Soul Room... Of course,_ ' the Duelist realized, the feeling of homesickness that had slowly died down over time returning. Looking back and thinking back on the strange textures, his thoughts continued, ' _Seems things have slightly changed in there since I last saw it..._ '

Before he could think further upon it, the door to his right opened and the scent of cold ocean air exited the room as Tactical Warrior exited her own Soul Room. Solomon caught a slight glimpse of a house that seemed to have construction far older and of different style than the ones he had seen in fifteenth century England, Brittany, and Normandy, but he didn't look upon it too much. The Soul Room is a reflection of a person's personality and being, and while him and Tactical Warrior had gotten to know each other quite well due spending several months connected telepathically, the Soul Room was still quite a private thing. Focusing on closing the door to his own, he commented to the Deck Leader, "If this is how tired we were, it's really good that we had met someone."

Tactical Warrior nodded with a slight frown as she closed the door to her Soul Room while replying, "With large quantities of those 'Grimm' incoming, ending up in a Soul Room rest would have likely allowed them to kill you."

Solomon was silent for a few seconds before responding with, "After time travel where I gained powerful magic and having my immortal soul threatened to be devoured or completely fucked with by gods of darkness, the threat of something as simple as an ordinary death doesn't seem like something much to worry about."

The Deck Leader ruminated over this response for a few seconds before concernedly asking, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Solomon said with a sigh as his left hand raised to his forehead. "The last...two hours? Maybe it was just one...of consciousness have been especially...chaotic? I don't think my brain's caught up with reality yet." Lowering his hand away from his face, the Rose Duelist turned to Tactical Warrior and gave a shrug while continuing with, "Hell, I just heard that I'm on a completely different world and the obstacles in the way of getting back are insurmountable, but after the initial shock, I don't really feel much about it anymore."

"It'll affect you in time. These are the closest thing to a true battle you've been in," Tactical Warrior responded, putting her right hand on his left shoulder. "If you need someone to talk to when it strikes, I'll always be present to talk about it."

"Whether I want you to or not, right?" Solomon looked her in the eye and inquired, a short laugh punctuating his sentence.

"Of course," The Duel Spirit replied with a mischievous smirk as she lowered her hand to her side and stepped back.

The Rose Duelist's mind processed the other part of what she had said. "What do you mean by 'the closest thing to a true battle I've been in'?" he asked curiously. "What about-"

"The Rose Duels beforehand?" Tactical Warrior completed. "Yes, you were indeed affected by having to order monsters to their 'deaths' upon this plane, but the Rose Duels didn't last as long or put near as much stress upon you as an actual battlefield would. This may be partially due to your status as a commander rather than as a direct soldier, but a major factor would be the length of the fight. The battle against Tudor did last longer than average, but this is the first time you've encountered the main aspect of a battlefield."

"Which is?" Solomon asked as the Duel Spirit paused, likely to prompt him to ask that very question.

"An endurance test of body, mind, and soul," the Deck Leader replied. "Not all may always be incorporated, but at least one is always present, and this was the first conflict where you were finally pushed far enough." After a moment of consideration, she said, "For your first true fight, you did...decent."

"I was crippled with pain when we arrived and passed out after we got on the aircraft," Solomon replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Hell, you were in the same situation!"

"Indeed, so we have something to work upon," Tactical Warrior deadpanned with a slight smirk. The Duel Spirit began walking towards the Iron door, to Solomon's initial confusion, until the Duelist realized that Manawyddan had marked their fifth victory since their last card reincarnation, so the ability to have one of the cards exchanged for three random ones was available once more, and it was likely a good idea to reorganize the deck in the aftermath, especially with having received Gate Deeg. A minor question entered into his mind, which he then proceeded to voice, "Hey, how long is it we are going to be in here? Prior times it was voluntary meditation, but now I'm passed out."

Tactical Warrior paused before the door and thought for a few moments before responding, "I seem to recall a Spellcaster having mentioned that if you enter the Soul Room level through passing out, you exit it when your body wakes up. I think it was also mentioned that waking up in the Soul Room means your body is relatively close to waking up as well..."

"...so if we are going to get the card reincarnation done, we better get it done first," Solomon completed.

The Duel Spirit nodded, giving a slight smile at seeing the Rose Duelist had known why she was heading towards the door, as she opened the door and entered, Solomon following behind. The two entered into a room vastly different from the Soul Rooms. They were in the interior of a massive circular tower composed of gray stone that stretched on until it faded into a purple and black void, the walls composed near entirely of open archways, with exception to one that held the door back to the hall they had just left. Torches were placed between every other of the open spaces that stared out into the same void, and four fire pits floated in a circular path around the room equidistant from each other. The floor of the tower was the strangest aspect, composed of silver and a pitch black stone, that consisted of two rings of similar pattern surrounding a central design, the outer of the rings seeming to constantly rotate at high speed though standing upon it caused no movement. The central pattern these rings were around was a massive half-closed eye in a ring that held a massive inscription in the Duel Spirit language. While the edge of the eye was composed of silver, the corona was composed of a marble edged by sandstone, with the pupil being a short, waist-high pedestal of blood-red diamond. Upon this pedestal lay a deck of cards, and it was this that Solomon and Tactical Warrior walked towards. Taking positions upon either side of the pedestal, upon the marble of the half-closed eye, both reached out with their right hands and placed them upon the deck while closing their eyes. Instantly, the minds of both were once more linked and every card available for the deck was seen within their minds.

' _We may want to remove one the five or six star creatures,_ ' Solomon commented as he scrutinized the cards in the deck. ' _The average star level is a bit high compared to how quickly we recover summoning power._ '

' _If we had some traps, it wouldn't be as big of an issue, but given the current quality of what we have..._ ' Tactical Warrior commented. ' _Gate Deeg would assist greatly in addressing the balance with its effect and natural level._ '

' _Yeah,_ ' the Rose Duelist agreed. ' _One of the Giltia the Dragon Knights? Could possibly use the copy for the card reincarnation._..'

' _Giltia_ is _one of the few strong warriors we have,_ ' the Duel Spirit advised with a hint of skepticism.

' _Indeed,_ ' Solomon admitted. ' _However, there are multiple copies and while I am not certain as to exactly how the reincarnation works, it might give us the highest chance of getting a Gaia and therefore allowing the use of a Black Luster Ritual for the lowest comparative risk_.'

After a couple moments of consideration, Tactical Warrior replied, ' _Okay, let's try it_ _._ '

As the second Giltia card was mentally removed from the deck, the projection within the room that both the Duelist and Duel Spirit had their hands upon slightly lowered, before raising once more when the Gate Deeg card was added. After this was complete, the two reached towards the metaphysical card storage Giltia had been moved into and Gate Deeg had been taken from, and focused upon the Giltia the Dragon Knight card within. Each victory gained imbibed the Rose Card with a degree of energy that could be drawn upon to affect cards in their possession via Card Reincarnation once enough had been gathered, typically taking only five battles of sufficient scale. The Duelist and Leader pair took this energy and focused it into the Giltia card until it was overwhelmed and shattered into three fragments, removing that connection to the Duel Spirit realm. These fragments were slowly made whole by the energy one at a time. The first card formed being Disc Magician, a four star normal machine monster with thirteen hundred fifty attack and one thousand defense.

' _Not the best, but could have been worse,_ ' Tactical Warrior commented.

' _Gives us another possibility for how to form Metal Dragon through fusion with the Blackland Fire Dragon, at least,_ ' Solomon stated.

' _True,_ ' Tactical Warrior admitted.

The next card to form was a five star effect monster known as Misairuzame. It had a fourteen hundred attack and sixteen hundred defense with the effect that it gained five hundred attack in battles with machines.

' _Quite a nice one,_ ' the Duel Spirit stated. ' _Especially since it seems machines are quite advanced here._ '

' _And we can actually use Hightide with this one to make it better,_ ' the Rose Duelist responded. ' _Only one we have that would work with it, but given this world seems to be on par with technology to back in my time back home, it should be well worth it._ '

As Solomon trailed off, the final card was revealed. Unlike the prior two, this was not a monster, but a trap card. Specifically, Spellbinding Circle, a limited range trap that would lock an attacker in place for three draws and reduce the strength of the attacker by six hundred points.

' _Oh that is just perfect,_ ' Solomon said, a hint of malicious glee upon his voice.

' _We just talking about a lack of traps, and we get one of the quite good ones in the reincarnation,_ ' Tactical Warrior agreed in a similar tone. However, before anything further could be done to the deck, both began to feel a tug upon their consciousness. Withdrawing from the deck and focusing on the feeling, it seemed like Solomon's body was waking up.

"Looks like that was completed just in time," Solomon stated with a chuckle as their awareness of the room began to fade out in favor of greater awareness of reality itself.

* * *

 **I had wound up completely forgetting that a Card Reincarnation was actually available for use. Only remembered when I had loaded up the game when I had a friend over and loaded up the game itself. One quick button press later, and those three cards cropped up. I figured that Solomon might as well get them.  
**

 **Oh, I attempted to base the appearance of the deck building room off of the game's monster preview zone. Did I capture it's appearance decently?  
**


	5. Chapter 5: A Measure of Character

**The Academy (?)**

* * *

Solomon returned to consciousness in a blank white room where light streamed in from his left. The Duelist found himself on something that appeared to be a hospital bed, with some slight divergences in exact design that could likely be explained away as being upon a different world with an apparently different level of technology, based upon the use of a tiltjet aircraft. A monitor to his right had some data displayed upon it in an unfamiliar language and number system that seemed to be sourced from a wire going from some device placed around his index finger, that was lightly pinching the finger, was linked to.

' _What is that?_ ' Tactical Warrior idly questioned.

' _I believe it may be a heart rate monitor,_ ' Solomon answered, taking note of the curtain that could likely be pulled to enclose the bed just past the monitor and the door on the wall past that, in the far corner. ' _Though it does seem to do a bit more_. _Can't read what it says to know what else it monitors, though. Probably just other vitals._ '

' _I can see some roots of the numbers of the Duel Spirit language,_ ' the Deck Leader stated. ' _But it seems to have diverged to the point that they are only just barely there._ '

' _Damn, might have been able to figure something out if you had been able to fully recognize them,_ ' the Rose Duelist replied as he brought himself to a seated position, glancing over his body as he did so to see that he was still in the clothing he had arrived in this world in. Glancing over at something he had seen out of the corner of his eye, Solomon saw that his bag had been placed upon a long table set adjacent to the wall opposite the bed. A degree of paranoia manifested in both Tactical Warrior and Solomon's minds that led them desire to head over to it to check that the seven White Rose cards they had stored in the deck box were still within there.

' _We would have checked for any information we could find on someone that appeared from nowhere..._ ' both unnoticingly thought simultaneously, as Solomon absentmindedly removed the device on his finger with ease. The wire had not seemed long enough to be able to reach over that distance. Once the Rose Duelist had managed to walk over to the bag, however, the door burst open as someone who appeared to be a doctor rushed in with a slightly panicked look on their face before they saw Solomon standing just fine. The panic on their face changed to some degree of annoyance and anger as Solomon had the heel realization, ' _Oh right. They probably had that data feeding back somewhere and removing it may have made them think I was dying... Whoops._ '

' _That can be done?_ ' Tactical Warrior asked, a hint of mirth from Solomon having put himself in a fairly harmless situation in her curious tone.

' _Yeah,'_ the Rose Duelist replied as the incomprehensible tirade of the Doctor continued. ' _Might actually have a video recording of this room, actually. Probably should make searching the deck for the Rose Cards seem incidental so they don't suspect anything._ '

' _...You're going to have to tell me more about what to expect,_ ' the Duel Spirit responded critically.

' _Different world, but I think I can give some general idea,_ ' the Rose Duelist replied. The doctor finally finished their tirade and seemed to be expecting a response, Solomon sheepishly spoke up in English, "I'm sorry. While I _think_ I know what you may be saying, I cannot understand what you had said."

The doctor seemed confused for a moment before seemingly remembering the little issue of the language barrier and gave a sigh. Based on the gestures, they seemed to say for the Rose Duelist to stay in the room and left, presumably to get someone who actually could speak with him. ' _I wonder. Is it to let them know you are awake, or to get you to know what they were yelling at you about?_ ' Tactical Warrior jokingly inquired.

' _Yes,_ ' Solomon replied bluntly, to the Duel Spirit's mirth. ' _Anyway, White Rose Cards?_ '

' _Indeed,_ ' Tactical Warrior said, her humored demeanor falling away quickly. ' _If they aren't there..._ '

' _Interesting times will lay ahead,_ ' Solomon completed, with a barely perceptible hint of malice, as he began to search through the pack. He first checked the status of the clothes he had picked up back in England followed by a quick look around for the leftover English and French currency. He did a quick search for the knife he had gotten made based off his Great-Grandfather's trench knife, something which seemed to be missing.

' _Probably taken,_ ' the Duel Spirit said. ' _Don't know what they are expecting it to do, considering..._ '

' _Might have been something to do with having been placed in medical. Going to have to ask about that,_ ' the Rose Duelist responded annoyed, as he changed his focus to looking through the deck of cards. As he ran his fingers over the top of the cards, his fingers brushed across a couple far more crisp card than the others. Pulling up the cards around the section and sliding them down, the first of the White Rose cards was revealed. The Rose Duelist went through the cards at the same pace as the rest of the deck to not arouse suspicion and made his way through all seven of the White Rose cards.

' _Good_ ,' Tactical Warrior spoke as Solomon made his way through the last few cards he had picked up. ' _They didn't take anything critical._ '

' _Looks like we won't have to do something drastic,_ ' Solomon replied as he looked for a few other things, among them the journal he had bought in London and the old bricked cell phone, in an attempt to further hide the importance of what lay within the deck box. ' _It would have been quite difficult and especially unfortunate._..'

' _It's good we didn't have to, then,_ ' the Deck Leader responded concerned. ' _The Beowolves were oddly strong and stable for something...natural._ _It may be possible they are renegade duel spirits, but I don't know how they might have gotten here if so._..'

As he set the journal back in the pack and leaned over on the table, the Rose Duelist stated, disquieted, ' _The Professor did comment 'Grimm' rather than 'Beowolf', implying that there are more types..._ '

'... _And it is unlikely we've met the strongest,_ ' Tactical Warrior considered. ' _While it is doubtful they will be as strong as what we had to face during the duel with Manawyddan..._ '

' _...They might still be quite powerful,_ ' Solomon concluded. ' _Out of the frying pan..._ '

Before the Duel Spirit could question what he meant by that, they heard the door open and their attention was drawn in that direction. Professor Goodwitch seemed to say something in the unfamiliar language to someone standing outside, likely the doctor, before entering and addressing Solomon. "You gave Doctor Piros quite the scare when your vitals stopped transmitting," she seemed to state.

The Rose Duelist raised his left hand over the right side of his chest and bowed his head for a second as he spoke the words the Deck Leader translated for him, "I apologize. I had been a bit unfocused at the time and acted with only minimal thought."

One of the Professor's eyebrows raised slightly at the Rose Duelist's actions, before she roughly said, "Please follow me, Ozpin wishes to speak with you in his office."

"Understood," Solomon replied with what Tactical Warrior provided. The Rose Duelist moved to sling the pack over his shoulder, causing Glynda speak up.

"You won't need to bring that with you," she commented.

' _Mountains would fall to dust before we would leave the Rose Cards behind,_ ' the Duel Spirit spoke before providing Solomon with less convicting sentence.

"I'd rather not leave what little I own behind," Solomon replied to the Professor. Continuing on with an addition the Rose Duelist thought of, he asked, "Speaking of, I had a knife in here that is no longer present. Where has it been moved to?"

"Doctor Piros does not like to have weapons where patients are," Glynda replied. "It has been temporarily moved to the visitor's armory."

' _Visitor's armory?_ ' Solomon mentally questioned. ' _What type of_ Academy _is this that that would be required?_ '

' _One that seems quite interesting,_ ' Tactical Warrior eagerly replied.

' _You would be,_ ' the Rose Duelist replied with a mental chuckle.

Before the Duel Spirit could respond, the Professor interrupted the mental conversation by saying, "Is there something you find objectionable with that?"

Startled out of the conversation, the two slightly scrambled to form a response, and eventually settled upon having Solomon reply with, "I apologize. I got a bit distracted. It being placed there is fine."

Glynda's eyebrow raised again for a few moments, before she seemed to put aside whatever questions she had for later and said, "Follow me, then."

The Rose Duelist followed the Professor out of the room and through the building. As they made their way through the building to wherever it was that Ozpin wanted to meet with him, Solomon noted that there were occasional aspects of the building's construction that seemed oddly familiar. For awhile, he was unable to place what exactly it was, until they exited the building and he was able to get a decent look at the exterior of the academy. ' _...Why are there traits of a Gothic architecture here?_ ' Solomon asked, both amazed by the scale of the building's construction and confused as to why the style was present. ' _And why is it used for an academy that seems to be constructed of modern materials?_ '

Snapped out of his reverie at the architecture, the Rose Duelist hurried his pace faster than he had been moving before to catch up before she took notice of him having fallen behind. Solomon thought he had seen the hint of a humored smile upon the Professor's face when he had caught up, but it disappeared fast enough that it may have been a trick of the light. She continued to lead him to what seemed to be the largest tower of the Academy, though the Rose Duelist didn't know just how much of the Academy he had seen so something larger could theoretically exist, and to an elevator inside. Glynda pressed what may have been the button for the highest floor of the structure, and the elevator carried the two to the top floor. When the doors opened, she led him to an office that had a massive amount of clockwork chugging away overhead, something which stole Solomon's attention for a few seconds after he attempted to puzzle out how it worked. He rapidly discarded this futile line of thought, and refocused his attention upon the desk placed within the room. Seated upon a quite strange chair behind it was the headmaster, Ozpin.

"You gave quite the scare when you collapsed in the Bullhead. Why was it that you passed out?" Glynda seemed to translate for Ozpin.

"We were in a quite...difficult battle before I arrived, to understate it slightly," Solomon replied carefully. "Add in a fairly heavy assault by a similar...entity...in the aftermath and having to call upon the power once more soon after arriving to fight the Beowolves that struck at me..."

"That doesn't explain why you went from displaying no signs of tiredness to exhaustion in moments," the Professor pointed out herself. "What caused that?"

Solomon near imperceptibly flinched at the line of discussion he had on some level been hoping wouldn't be pursued. ' _Looks like at least one weakness is going to be revealed. May be more..._ '

"The power temporarily saps at my vitality in the aftermath based upon what was done," Solomon reluctantly stated. "Taking damage winds up causing a bigger strike, but summoning and casting does have a minor penalty to it as well."

Concern flashed on Glynda's face, and Ozpin's when she finished translating. The latter voiced a question that the former translated as, "Could this sapping of strength kill you?"

' _...Could it?_ ' Solomon asked uncertain. ' _It was never mentioned, but..._ '

' _...Maybe if we lost thirty-nine hundred twice?_ ' Tactical Warrior offered as a possibility, frustrated at her lack of knowledge on the subject. ' _It would still be more likely to leave you simply passed out, just for longer, though. Granted, that could be a death sentence on its own..._ '

Noting the expectant looks of the Professor and Headmaster, the Rose Duelist spoke his and the Duel Spirit's conclusion as, "We don't think it could _directly_ cause my death, but indirect through passing out in hostile territory is a possibility..."

"I have not heard of any," Glynda began, before speaking a pair of words that neither recognized. They seemed to be part of the sentence as she continued unabated, "that have those side effects."

' _They seem to be a strange combination of a few words each,_ ' Tactical Warrior commented after she had translated what Glynda had said for Solomon. ' _Compiling the components and doing a literal translation, the first seems to be external life-force defense, though I see traces of the word for soul in there and the first aspect may be projected rather than external._ '

' _Projected soul shield?_ ' Solomon offered.

' _Maybe, but there are a few oddities that may make that not entirely accurate,_ ' the Duel Spirit replied. Focusing on the second, she mulled it over then, ' _I can see traces of magic, personality, ability, soul, and a few similar words in there, but I can't get an accurate read on what it is supposed to be saying._ '

' _We are seemingly using two different but similar languages,_ ' Solomon stated. ' _We were bound to hit a major break at some point._ '

' _Indeed..._ ' Tactical Warrior trailed off.

Noting that the two were once more expecting a response, the Rose Duelist had the Deck Leader translate, "the two words you used to classify the abilities were completely unfamiliar, and while an approximation could be made for the former, the latter was only coming out as gibberish. We can't tell what you were referring to."

There seemed to be a fair degree of deliberation on the other side of the language barrier after the Professor translated what he had said. Eventually, some conclusion was reached and Glynda addressed Solomon with, "While not an entirely accurate descriptor, a basic description some use is Soul Magic. Is that more familiar?"

"Which part of the soul?" the Rose Duelist asked at Tactical Warrior's prompting.

"What do you mean by that?" the Professor responded confused.

"The soul is not one monolithic whole, but is composed of several different pieces connected," Solomon spoke the Duel Spirit's explanation. "The energy of the soul that fuels the soul, the aspect that forms the basis of someone's personality for each incarnation, the shadow formed of the nature of an individual which splits off at death to form a spirit in the various realms, the aspect containing the person's memories that passes onto the afterlife, and the name that binds the parts together while the person lives. Which part does the 'Soul Magic' you are referring to use?"

A response did not come swiftly, as a lot of conversation seemed to be generated as a result of what he had said. Enough that Tactical Warrior had a realization she voiced, ' _they weren't aware of the different parts..._ '

' _Will this have any disastrous side effects?_ ' Solomon asked, greatly concerned.

' _I don't know,_ ' the Deck Leader responded uneasily. ' _It may make it easier to explain away the Rose Card magic as falling under a different category, but we don't have enough information to tell what effects it may have beyond that._..'

' _...Shit,_ ' the Rose Duelist summarized the general feeling they both had as they nervously waited to hear what the reaction Glynda and Ozpin had in a language they understood.

Eventually, whatever conversation the two were having was killed when Ozpin noted the nervous expression Solomon was carrying. He seemed to mention it to Glynda, and, as a result, the two seemed to refocus on formulating a response. "From what you say," Glynda eventually translated, "it seems the variety the 'Soul Magic' we use is the personality aspect channeled through the soul's energy that grants abilities based on those personalities. We presume that yours falls under a different variety?"

"Yes," Solomon replied, tension still in his voice. "It is more under channeling the shadow through the soul energy to form a creature."

"You had used more than one when we first met," Glynda starting to make a point the Rose Duelist and Tactical Warrior had been hoping she wouldn't, as the Headmaster grew extremely interested. "Yet from what you described of the soul, the shadow can only form one creature. What else is going on?"

' _...Will we need to tell them about the Rose Cards?_ ' Solomon asked, hoping that the Duel Spirit would have some possible.

' _If we don't want to alienate them, at least,_ ' Tactical Warrior agreed with the assessment, greatly annoyed by the situation. ' _And given how few people are even aware we exist in this world and the chances of finding someone who also knows some language we can communicate in..._ '

' _There is no practical option but to tell them,_ ' Solomon regretfully concluded. ' _To a general degree, at the very least._ '

' _If they try to press for more?_ ' the Duel Spirit questioned.

Before a response and a plan could be concocted, Ozpin cleared his throat and startling Solomon back to reality. The Rose Duelist focused on regaining his composure as Tactical Warrior formed a response in his mind. Once both were done, Solomon said, "before we can tell you that, we need you to swear this information won't get out."

"Is this knowledge dangerous?" Glynda asked uneasy.

' _We can at least emphasize just how horrendously bad of an idea trying is,_ ' Tactical Warrior thought.

' _...Why not exaggerate to make sure they don't try anything?_ ' Solomon responded conspiratorially.

' _Indeed..._ ' the Duel Spirit replied in the same tone. ' _I even have an idea..._ '

"If people try to gain the power without knowing what they are doing, it can call forth an...entity that wishes to devour every soul in the world to empower itself," Solomon replied. "It was easily more by luck than skill that managed to stop the last one in its weakest form, while still having its power being largely blocked from the aftereffects of arriving, and having been intercepted before it could mess with any souls by those with some degree of protection from its abilities. It is possible that weaker versions could exist, but we do _not_ want to risk that."

The Professor grew steadily paler as Solomon's statements sank in, but not to the same degree the Headmaster did after some realization hit him. He seemed to retreat into deep contemplation as the Professor cautiously asked, "And if your abilities are already unlocked?"

"A battle between two with the abilities in specific locations while certain components are gathered can have the same effect," Solomon regretfully admitted. "We can actively work against two of the three criteria, but we can be more effective at preventing such a situation from occurring if the knowledge is kept secret."

A bit of deliberation occurred between Glynda and Ozpin afterwards, but whatever seemed to occur was quickly settled, and Glynda told the Rose Duelist and, unknowingly, the Duel Spirit, "We can agree to keep the information from spreading."

' _We don't really have a basis to know whether this is trustworthy or not..._ ' Tactical Warrior pointed out. ' _But..._ '

' _...it's not like we are spoiled for options,_ ' Solomon completed before addressing the two with the translation Tactical Warrior soon provided. "There exist a total of sixteen artifacts in my possession that can be used to empower an individual with the ability to not only call upon their own shadow, but also call from the realms the various spirits formed of the shadows of people long passed that range from weaker than a baseline human to strong enough to kill cities, as well as grant an ability to cast a number of powerful spells that can range from useless to being able to permanently paralyze someone for as long as the artifact is being tapped into to reshaping terrain over several kilometers while providing an energy field while it is being accessed that may be similar to your projected soul shield."

"That is...quite a powerful ability," the Professor replied, after several seconds it had taken to regain her composure at hearing the sheer scale that Solomon's powers could operate upon. In contrast, the Headmaster seemed to be in deep contemplation about something after hearing the translation.

"I haven't reached the full capabilities I could have, as my repertoire of spells and monsters are a bit on the low side and of an average level of strength," Solomon admitted. "But I can still do a fair amount with what I have."

The revelation that he was not at his full potential yet seemed to spark something in Ozpin's mind. He then proceeded to state something that Glynda seemed to disagree with to a fair degree. Some lengthy debate was spawned that the Rose Duelist patiently waited through anxiously. Something eventually seemed to be said that caused the Professor to capitulate and translate a question. "There is a possibility of something that can be done about your current situation," she said, slight concern in her voice.

Solomon raised an eyebrow and cautiously asked, "What is it?"

* * *

 **This wasn't to the precise length I was thinking of having it at first, but I just wanted the chapter done so I would actually be able to at least stay somewhat close with the two week alternating schedule I had set myself to get chapters for this story and the turns for a forum game out. Hopefully I'll be able to closer stick to that schedule in the future.  
**

 **Usage of Bullhead and similar terms that would exist in other forms in the language are used for convenience of understanding. The actual terms that were used would differ due to limitations of having to speak in an extremely old language. Soul aspects were derived from Yugioh canon mixed with the Ancient Egyptian parts of the soul, and a dash of interpretation to figure out how both Duel Spirits and reincarnation works.**


End file.
